Ultraviolette F77 electric bike caught testing undisguised

A couple of months ago, we rode the final prototype of the impressive Ultraviolette electric sportbike and you can read all about that here. However, back then, aside from a digital render, we weren’t given access to what the final bike would look like. But that has just changed as we’ve received images of an undisguised Ultraviolette F77 out on test in Bengaluru.

There are a number of details to take in from these images, starting with the striking full-LED headlamp with diffused daytime running lamps at the bottom. The shape of the lamp is minimal and reminiscent of sporty KTM nakeds, but with its own identity. The bigger eye-catching detail up front, however, is the full shrouding around the USD fork that is sure to give the bike quite a unique presence. We don’t have clear shots of the side profile, but it is evident that there’s a substantial fairing used to hide away the full battery pack and electric drivetrain lurking within. Also visible is a triple clamp for the clip-on bars and a large, fully digital instrument cluster. The test bike was free of any decals, but whether this clean look will make it to production remains to be seen. There’s a good chance this may happen as the tech space is generally a fan of clean and clutter-free design, and it’s something Ather uses to good effect on their 340 and 450 scooters.

Moving to the rear, it gets a sharp and sporty tail section with twin-slash LED brake lamps. The indicators are full LED and are similar to what you’ll find on a KTM. The rubber-topped footpegs also look familiar, but the pillion pegs and the number plate holder all look to be well-finished, high-quality metal units unique to this bike. Lower down, the massive swingarm we saw on the prototype bike is still there, but this one appears to be a single-piece cast unit, something we were told the final bike would get. The wheel design is also new and there’s a tiny bit of blue detailing visible on a couple of spokes. You’ll also see the same splash of blue on the monoshock. One thing we can’t help notice is that the body coloured extension of the fairing behind the rider’s boot is quite likely to get scuffed over time; it’ll probably be wiser to have that bit in a black, abrasion-resistant material.

What else can we tell from these images, then? Well, it looks like the bike will use a conventional key and whether a smart, keyless start system will also be offered remains to be seen. It’s easy to tell that the tyres are clearly Metzeler M5s, which worked well on the prototype. The braking system also looks to be carried forward, which is a good thing and this bike will feature dual-channel ABS. However, what’s not seen here are the mirrors and it will be interesting to see the design route the company takes with this.

To give you a quick recap, Ultraviolette Automotive is a Bengaluru based start-up in which TVS has a 25 percent stake. The F77, as it is currently codenamed, will be its first model and it has been fully developed in-house. The bike has been built to beat 200cc motorcycles and uses a 25kW/90Nm electric motor to get the job done. It has a claimed 0-100kph time of less than 8sec and a top speed of around 140kph. Battery pack details aren’t revealed yet, but the claim is of a real-world range of about 150km. Expected to be priced around Rs 2-2.5 lakh, the F77 electric bike should go on sale in end-2019, with initial sales planned for Bengaluru exclusively.

What do you think of the Ultraviolette’s design? Let us know in the comments below.

UPDATE: We've just come across a video clip that reveals that the motorcycle is much louder than you'd expect. A lot of this noise is thanks to the reduction ratio gears, and it will reduce on the final production version which will get smoother meshing gears. However, the high frequency, turbine-like sound from the electric motor will remain.